Structured Wiring: Experts Answer Your Questions

There were some questions that weren't answered during a recent CE Pro webinar, "Structured Wiring Can Still Be Profitable … Seriously."

It wasn't the fault of our two expert panelists, integrator Greg Simmons of Las Vegas-based Eagle Sentry and Leviton's director of business development Ian Hendler. It's just that there were a lot of questions and we could only get to so many in an hour.

The topic has triggered a nerve with the CE Pro audience. As the construction market soared through the early 2000s, so many integration companies earned disproportionate revenues from structured wiring alliances with builders. Things changed.

The housing market collapsed and popularity of wireless technologies deflated demand for structured wiring. Meanwhile, many of the homebuilders that are still building are cutting corners to save costs and leaving out the once-standard structured wiring.

CE pros want to adapt. They want to know how to get in front of builders. They want to know how their structured wiring installation processes need to evolve. They submitted a lot of questions.

While Simmons and Hendler couldn't answer every question during the live webinar, they didn't want to leave anybody hanging. Following are the two experts' responses to several leftover structured wiring questions.

I have read that structured wiring should cost about 1 percent of the total house value? Has that changed with the economic downturn?

Ian Hendler, Leviton: It is still around that for some new-construction in many markets (upper-end segments). Obviously, it will be less where builder inventories are under significant competitive price pressure.

What is the best way for someone new to the industry to approach builders?

Greg Simmons, Eagle Sentry: There is not a "best way" to approach a builder. There are two key people with whom you should establish a relationship.

The first is the purchasing director. This person is usually the decision maker. The second is the director of construction. This person has a lot of influence on the decision-making process.

Gaining the approval of both would give you the best opportunity to win the contract. One of the things that helped us at the beginning was joining our local homebuilders' association. Most cities and regions have one. They operate in cooperation with the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB).

I have always had the mindset that we should be experts in the construction process as well as experts in our particular field.

Is Cat 6 over-kill for just voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) in a residential environment?

Hendler: Most customers (and their families) are running multiple applications on a residential network simultaneously. VoIP applications need either available bandwidth (provided by Cat 5e/6) and/or excellent QOS in the residential router/switch for optimal sound quality.

The "network" doesn't care if an individual is running multiple applications on his PC or multiple individuals are each running single LAN/WAN applications (file transfers, media servers, Hulu, etc.). They all consume bandwidth.

Cat 6 gives more bandwidth and allows for the use of less expensive networking gear/electronics (lack or minimal QOS required).

Ian, during the webinar you compared Cat 5e and Cat 6, but you didn't say anything about fiber optic. Will it be a real player anytime soon?

Hendler: No, not really. Installation in "bundled cable" is still done, but virtually none is "terminated" and active in the residential markets. Cat 6 is much easier to install and has the best "bandwidth to cost" ratio when factoring in required electronics and termination costs for fiber optic technologies.

When will you start seeing fiber-optic connectors on residential electronics gear? Probably in about three years.

When will wireless N be standardized and fully functional?

Hendler: Great question, but your guess is as good as mine. Maybe by 2010?

However, the real question is: How many of today's devices will actually be capable of being firmware upgraded to use this standard when ratified?Greg, I assume you have thousands of installs. Do you have any compelling products to go back and sell retro solutions?

Simmons: The wireless access points have been a popular retrofit product. Some of our older installation clients have requested advanced networking capabilities. We have many requests to return to the home to set up the customer's wireless network. The 42-inch enclosures also give us ample room for expansion.

As wireless systems grow they will talk on the same frequency. Will this cause problems?

Hendler: Yes, many of the new wireless devices will be on the same RF band as existing 802.11g WiFi devices. This band is 2.4-gigs and has WiFi 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, Bluetooth, most digital and analog cordless phones and ZigBee devices on it.

Although there are allegedly 11 WiFi channels (1-11), only three are "non-overlapping": 1, 6, and 11. If you live (as I do) in an area with many WiFi signals, this can cause significant performance, speed, reliability, and range issues with devices that use this same 2.4-gig band. For example, multi-dwelling units (MDUs) and hospitality markets have issues if they try going "all wireless" without significant spectrum analysis.

Bonus answer: Some newer multimedia devices are also capable of communication on the 802.11a protocol; these work at 5.8-gig. Although there is not much RF interference — yet — in this band, it has much less range and signal penetration through walls/objects compared to 2.4-gig-based networks or 900-MHz Z-Wave products.

The lower the frequency, the better the penetration is through objects, but the lower the bandwidth available for applications. Today's wireless voice, data, and video products require at least 2.4-gig spectrums bandwidth. This is why all WiFi gear and almost all digital/analog cordless phones are now exclusively in the 2.4-gig and 5.8-gig spectrums.

In contrast, residential automation and control applications, such as Z-Wave based lighting, window treatments, door locks, thermostats/HVAC and universal remote controls are extremely low-bandwidth applications. As low-bandwidth (9.6 to 40 kbps, typically) mesh transceiver devices they can use the lower bands of the RF spectrum such as the 900-MHz range, which has superior range and signal penetration through typical residential construction materials and household objects.

As an additional benefit, multimedia applications can't use this low bandwidth for high-quality video and audio signals. Thus, the 900-MHz spectrum is not crowded like 2.4-gig is today and 5.8-gig is becoming.

Can you comment on lower-cost technologies like A-Bus, and whether you anticipate costs for home automation getting more approachable?

Hendler: Early adopters will often pay for increased performance or new functions, but the "mass market" has a relatively increased sensitivity to cost and typically wants more simplicity than the early adopter.

That being said, manufacturers typically look at the early adopters to drive a product launch and then iterate the product (often more than once) for the mass market.

A-Bus wiring is a good value for cost-effectively enabling multiroom audio systems in new construction. In retrofit environments, mesh-based Z-Wave products are a very good value for home automation across many residential subsystems.

Greg, during the webinar you suggested that integrators "break out" the structured wiring in their company. How and why?

Simmons: I meant that you should create a department or division so it can be broken out in your financial statements and records. It has been beneficial for us to see the "structured wiring division" stand profitably on its own.

It will help you verify that your price structure is correct. We have separated our departments by "alarm," "intercom," "central vac," "audio/video" and "structured wiring."

Note: The lack of volume during the economic downturn has made it challenging to be as accurate with each department because we've had to have employees cross over to other departments.

What do you see the industry doing to educate the builders about the new technology available and these trends?

Hendler: Check out the Consumer Electronics Association's TechHome Rating System. This has recently been revised and updated and is focused on educating the builder and the consumer about technology options and infrastructure.

Would you recommend making Cat 6 our new standard for Data wiring, with Cat 5e becoming the step down?

Hendler: If you can sell the increased value of the available bandwidth for applications that are important to your customers and you are comfortable terminating it, there's no downside to Cat 6 and there is high upside potential. Go for it and differentiate yourself in your market.